Aftermath
by Kara1626
Summary: Gibbs is dealing with near-crippling guilt after Kate's death and his team is worried. But is her death really what's causing the guilt? Someone needs to talk to him. WARNING: Spanking of an adult and a minor.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: Contains spanking of an adult and a minor.**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.**

* * *

_**Four Days after Kate's Funeral:**_

"You have to talk to him."

"Why me?"

"Because I've already tried."

Tony sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Abbs, if he's not going to talk to you, what makes you think he'll talk to me? In fact, I can think of two reasons why he _won't_ talk to me."

"What are they?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"Number one, you're his favorite. If he won't talk to you, he won't talk to anyone."

Abby shrugged. "True, I am his favorite. But he really likes you too," she added quickly in response to Tony's look.

Tony brushed it off. "And number two, we're guys. We don't talk about our feelings. I think it's even a rule."

Abby looked at Tony pleadingly. "Tony, please." When he didn't cave, she turned and walked to the end of the long lab table. "I'm worried about him," she said quietly. She stood with her back to him, shoulders slumped.

Tony looked at her for a moment, slightly irritated, but when she sniffled, it was more than he could take. He walked over to her and put his arm around her. "Ok, fine. I'll talk to him."

Abby spun around and nearly knocked him over with the force of the hug. "Thank you!"

Tony held her for a moment, but the look on his face betrayed his thoughts. "_What have I gotten myself into this time?_" Abby was still clinging to him when he had another thought. "Maybe Ducky should do it." As quickly as Abby had started hugging him, she pulled back and instead punched him in the chest. "Ok, ok. I'll do it. Ow!"

Realizing she'd hurt him led Abby to hug him again. "I'm sorry," she said as she squeezed his neck. "I don't know what's gotten into me. Well, I guess I do. I mean, I'm sad and I miss Kate, and I'm worried about Gibbs, and…"

"Abby…can't… breathe…"

"Oh, sorry!" She released him.

Tony patted her gently on the arm then turned to leave before she found another reason to crush his ribcage. "I'd better go, ya know, talk to him," he said as he backed out of the lab. His awkwardness was only partially a ruse. In reality, he had no idea what he was going to say. And he feared the repercussions if Gibbs took his concern the wrong way. As he stepped into the elevator, he instinctively rubbed the back of his head.

* * * * *

"Go home, DiNozzo. It's been a long week."

"I'll leave when you do, Boss."

Gibbs leveled a glare at his senior agent across the bullpen, but when Tony didn't yield, he softened. He looked at his watch and realized that it was even later than he thought it was. "Yeah, ok. Let's go."

They stepped into the elevator and Gibbs pushed the button that would take them to the parking garage.

Tony's heart stopped for just a moment before he took a deep breath, reached in front of his boss and hit the stop switch. As the elevator clanked to a sudden stop, he snuck a glance at his boss. No reaction. He was still standing, as if frozen, staring at the now dimly-lit doors.

"Boss?" Tony ventured quietly. Gibbs blinked, but did not acknowledge him. "Boss," he tried again.

"Yeah," was all Gibbs said, but he still did not move.

Tony struggled for a moment, not sure where to start. He turned and leaned on the side wall so that he was now facing the statuesque man. "You want to talk about it?"

Gibbs sighed. "I spanked her."

This was not at all what Tony was expecting and it took a second for his brain to register what he'd heard. "Wait, what?"

"I spanked her, Tony," Gibbs repeated.

Tony nodded slowly. "When?"

"The day before she…" Gibbs trailed off. Tony stood completely still, staring at his mentor, not sure what to do next. Gibbs took a step back, leaned on the wall behind him and slid to the floor. Still feeling completely out of his element, Tony hesitated before he too slid down his part of the wall onto the floor. Gibbs sat, looking at the ceiling for a long minute.

"What happened?" Tony finally ventured.

After another long minute, Gibbs finally looked at him and it was then that Tony realized that the look he'd seen on Gibbs' face all week wasn't just sadness. It was guilt. "She broke a rule."


	2. Chapter 2

**One Week Earlier:**

"McGee. Where is Kate?" Gibbs asked pointedly. He'd told McGee to find her before he'd gone for coffee. He was back and she still was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know, Boss. I called her, but she didn't answer."

"Call her again," Gibbs ordered, slamming his coffee down on his desk.

McGee jumped and grabbed his phone. He dialed and waited for just a second. "It went straight to voicemail," he said, his brow crinkling with worry.

"You get a trace on her cell. Feed it to MTAC," Gibbs said angrily as he rushed to the stairs. He took them two at a time. "_Not again!_"

A few minutes later, Gibbs was still waiting. He grabbed the nearest phone and called McGee. "Where's the feed?!" He paused long enough for McGee to answer, then slammed the phone down and rushed out of the room.

Back in the squadroom, he towered over McGee as the younger agent typed furiously. "She must have turned it off," he offered lamely as his computer indicated yet again that the cell he was trying to trace was unavailable.

"Trace it anyway!" Gibbs demanded.

"Boss, I can't! If it's not on, I can't get a trace," Tim cried defensively. He understood why Gibbs was so angry – and so panicked – but he completely resented that the frustration and fear was being taken out on him. "It's not my fault!"

Gibbs stopped short. He had opened his mouth to yell something, but the dinging elevator stopped him. He wheeled around to see who had arrived.

"Where the hell have you been?" he shouted.

"I went to lunch," Kate said, completely baffled by the angry man in front of her. "I didn't know where you were when I left," she explained, backing up as Gibbs flew toward her.

"You've been gone for an hour and a half!"

Kate stared at him, clearly terrified of his rage. "I…I ran into a friend, and we got to talking, and I guess…I lost track…" Her breathing was shallow and heavy, as was Gibbs'.

"You turned off your phone," he accused.

"I what? No I didn't." Kate quickly pulled her phone off her waistband and flipped it open. It was off. She pushed the power button, but the only response the phone gave was a beep and a message on the screen telling her that the battery was dead. She swallowed hard and looked up at Gibbs. "I didn't know," she said feebly.

Without hesitation, Gibbs turned and headed for the stairs. "With me," he barked.

Kate's mouth was still hanging open in shock. She walked stiffly to her desk to deposit her bag and stole a glance at McGee, who was also clearly shocked at the events of the last minute. He gave her a brief sympathetic look as she turned to follow her furious boss up the stairs.

"Gibbs, I swear! I didn't know it was dead," she said desperately as she followed him into the conference room. The slamming of the door made her jump. And his hand suddenly gripping her arm made her panic. "I didn't know!" she repeated as he spun her around to face him.

"Never be unreachable!" he yelled. She opened her mouth to protest again, but he cut her off. "You left the building without telling anyone where you were going. You didn't even tell McGee. Or Abby. You just left!"

"I was only going down to the cart outside. I wasn't even leaving the Navy Yard," she explained.

"So you and your friend sat right outside this whole time?"

She hung her head as all her defensiveness drained away. "No," she said quietly. He glared at her, still gripping her arm, as he waited for her to explain. "I ran into her before I got to the cart. We haven't seen each other since I left the Secret Service. She suggested we go get lunch off base, and I was so excited to see her that I didn't even think twice about going…or about telling anyone I was leaving. But I really didn't think it was a big deal," she added, her stubbornness rearing its head.

"You didn't think it was a big deal?! Do you remember where you were the _last_ time we couldn't find you?" He didn't wait for her to answer. Instead, he pulled her to the table, pushed her down over it and stood behind her so she couldn't move. He pulled off his belt, folded it in half, put his hand firmly on her back to hold her down and spanked her. After a few painful swats, Kate started crying and Gibbs started lecturing. "You do not EVER leave the building without telling someone!" he yelled as he continued to bring the belt down on her backside. "And why didn't you answer the phone when McGee called?" he demanded, still lighting the fire.

"I didn't think it was important," Kate cried.

Gibbs paused for just a second as a memory flooded his mind.

_Kelly lay over his lap as he paddled her. She was crying hard, but he had to teach her that she couldn't just do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to. _

_Shannon had called him in a panic when Kelly hadn't come home from school at the regular time. At first, he'd brushed it off – she was only ten minutes late. But when Shannon called again twenty minutes later, his gut started churning. He got the necessary permission from his CO and hurried home. Kelly arrived just moments before he did. Clapping his cover on his head, he jumped out of the truck and flew up the sidewalk as she climbed the front steps. He crouched down in front of her and grabbed her arms._

_"Where have you been? Your mother's been looking everywhere for you!"_

_He saw fear in her eyes. "I went to Maddie's," she explained as tears started forming._

_Without a word, he stood up, took her hand and led her into the house, up the stairs and to her room. When he had safely deposited her, he went back downstairs. Shannon was standing at the bottom of the steps._

_"What happened?" she asked._

_"She went to Maddie's," he bit out and handed her his cover. _

_Shannon was stunned. Kelly knew better than to go somewhere after school without permission. She didn't have to wonder what Jethro was going to do. Even before he turned and headed to the basement to get the paddle, she knew Kelly had earned herself a very sore bottom. _

_He came back up the stairs and looked at his wife for a moment. He fully expected her to tell him to just use his hand – she had overruled him once before – instead, she simply nodded once._

_But as he started to climb the stairs back to Kelly's room, she called to him. "Jethro, don't you think you should wait until you're not so angry?" _

_He kept going, not even pausing to acknowledge her. In the back of his mind, he knew she was right, but Kelly had broken a major rule and he would not tolerate it. He walked into her room and closed the door with more force than was really necessary. His little girl stood next to her bed, tears streaming down her face, her body hitching with sobs._

_He sat down on the bed and pulled her over his lap. "What did you do wrong?" he asked._

"_I didn't ask Mommy before I went to Maddie's," she said through her tears._

"_No, you didn't," he agreed._

"_I'm sorry Daddy," she cried over and over again as he spanked her. He knew she was, but he also knew that he would be failing her if he didn't punish her._

"_Why didn't you call Mommy?" he asked._

"_I was only going there for a minute," she said between sobs and 'ows!'. "I didn't think it was important…"_

Gibbs brought the belt down on Kate a few more times before he released her and stepped back. Kate stayed bent over the table, crying. He let her as he put his belt back on. After a few minutes, he finally spoke.

"I can't believe you would be that irresponsible, Kate. Especially after what happened. Ari's still out there. How was I supposed to know that he didn't have you again? Or worse?"

Kate slowly stood up and turned to face him. "I'm sorry, Gibbs," she said. "I didn't even think about that…I'm so sorry." Her crying started fresh as she realized that it wasn't that he was angry – he was scared.

He looked at her for a moment, then reached out and pulled her into a hug, finally allowing himself to relax. "Shhh, it's ok." He rubbed her hair gently as he held her and she sobbed. "It's all over. You're safe." _"She's safe._"


	3. Chapter 3

* * * * *

Tony sat staring at Gibbs for a long time, too stunned to know what to say. Finally, he whispered, "She deserved it." Gibbs nodded. "I probably would have done the same thing if I'd been in your shoes," he continued, a little bit bolder.

"It's not that," Gibbs said.

"Then what?"

"I should have waited until I calmed down. I was too hard on her. It was an honest mistake."

"Gibbs," Tony said, giving him a look, "it was irresponsible. I'd still be feeling it if I'd pulled something like that after what she'd been through."

"She was just a kid. Kids do stuff like that all the time."

"What?" Tony asked, suddenly very confused.

"She was just a kid," Gibbs repeated to no one in particular.

"Kate?" Gibbs continued to stare at the floor, but said nothing. "Boss, Kate wasn't a kid. She was a federal agent, and she screwed up."

Suddenly, Gibbs stood up, took a step forward and put the elevator back into motion. "You're right, Tony."

Tony slowly got to his feet, all the while staring at his boss as if the man had just sprouted an extra arm. He cringed at the thought of _that_. Imagine the damage Gibbs could do if he had another arm! Tony shuddered then forced his mind back to the present. "I'm right about what, Boss?" he asked hesitantly.

"She messed up. She deserved to be punished." He looked away again. "But I know better than to do that when I'm angry," he said quietly.

"Ooohh," Tony said, suddenly realizing what was going on. "So _that's_ why you haul me all the way to your house when I screw up really badly."

"What?" Gibbs said, suddenly breaking out of his own thoughts again. "Oh, yeah. That's why. You'd have been in traction by the time I got done with you if I hadn't waited to get you home before I took that fireworks prank out on your ass," he said with a slightly forced laugh.

As the doors slid open and the men stepped into the parking garage, Tony reached out and put his hand on Gibbs' arm. The older man turned to face him. "Boss," Tony began uncomfortably, "you didn't do anything wrong. And you didn't know what was going to happen to her. Like you always tell me, you need to move on."

Gibbs studied Tony's face, and then relaxed. "Yeah," he finally agreed. "Thanks."

Tony watched as his boss walked away. After a few steps, Gibbs' posture straightened and his step took on a slightly bouncy quality. He waved as Gibbs drove away then pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Hey Abbs…yeah, I talked to him…he'll be fine."


End file.
